5 Good Reasons To Use Timber For Sustainable Construction

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Timber is without a doubt one of the most environmentally friendly building materials available. It is extraordinarily versatile, naturally renewable, strong to build with and creates a warm and welcoming environment to live in. Whilst we know that timber conveys a beautifully contemporary aesthetic it is also an extremely high performance material. Timber is light in weight, but also capable of holding heavy loads. Along with the thermal properties timber also brings to a home , its easy to see why timber is a go-to material in sustainable construction. If that doesn’t have you convinced you we’ve put together 5 good reasons to use timber for sustainable construction below.

Reduction of Carbon Dioxide – Using wood from sustainably managed forests actually reduces carbon dioxide emissions, as the carbon dioxide stored by the forest and in the timber product outweighs any carbon dioxide created during the production of the product. Each tonne of timber used instead of other building materials (like steel, or brick and concrete block) saves around a tonne of carbon dioxide.

Retention Of Heat – Timber has better insulating properties than other materials – 400 times better than steel and 15 times better than concrete. Wood’s cellular structure contains air pockets, which limit its ability to conduct heat and help to minimise the energy needed for heating and cooling.

Long lasting – A good quality timber product should, with a little care and maintenance, last a lifetime. A testament to this is the fact that many Victorian houses still have their original wood floors and windows.

Less Waste – Timber creates less waste in its production than either brick, plastic, concrete or steel.